Tamers: Return of the Partners
by Pohatu
Summary: As was seen at the end of the series, the partners for the Tamers were sent home. What happens when a way to bring them back is brought about? Back story for my Frontier fanfic.


Author's Note: This story takes place after the end of Frontier, but it's in the Tamer 'universe'. Just another back story for my Frontier fanfic, so that things in the story itself are a bit more understandable. So, um...enjoy?

Takato sat back after setting down the Aero Wing card, having just defeated Kazu, again, with the combo that he had used on Guilmon to defeat IceDevimon all that time ago. Kazu and Kenta, noting their friend's depression, bit back their complaints of Takato winning again as Kazu gathered up his cards, sweeping them into his box and then clearing his throat. The young goggle head's eyes moved to look at his visor-wearing friends, raising his brows to show that he had his attention. "Guilmon might be gone, good buddy, but think of it like this; with the experience, and combinations, you gained through him have made you near unstoppable with the card name. Even Rika, the Digimon QUEEN, has trouble beating you." Takato allowed a small smile to come onto his lips after hearing that, shaking his head as he softly laughed, then stopping and gathering his cards up into the box he had been using ever since starting to play the game.

"Kazu's right, Takato. But then again...you haven't played Ryo ever, now have you?" The question from Kenta caused the Goggle Head of their team to pause briefly, having just swept the last of his cards into the box. Takato just sat there, contemplating Kenta's question for a few seconds...before he tilted his head to lock eyes with Kenta, a bewildered expression on the brunette's face.

"Where is Ryo, anyway? I don't think I ever saw him after we were all forced out of our Biomerged forms." Kenta and Kazu both furrowed their brows after having heard this question, the two glancing at each other...before allowing their jaws to drop in horror, snapping their faces back to Takato.

"RYO DIDN'T COME BACK! HE'S STUCK IN THE DIGITAL WORLD!" The two shouted this in unison, Takato allowing his own jaw to drop in horror after hearing his two friends confirm what he had thought before.

"But if he's stuck there, that could be a good thing. For all we know, he has all our partners gathered up together and is keeping them on a tight training leash to one day return them to the real world." Takato said this, but clearly didn't believe it as he, along with Kazu and Kenta, pulled out their respective D-Power Digivices. But the screens were still pitch black, just like they had been ever since their Digimon had disappeared back into the Digital World. Out of all the Tamers, only Jeri had been able to get a different response from her D-Power, and that had just been a spat of static to show that her Digimon had not been reconfigured yet.

"Guys...I've got a confession. After our Digimon were sent back to their world, I went underneath the hut where I kept Guilmon and...and, well, the Digital Gate was still open." Takato saw the look of wide-eyed bewilderment on the faces of his friends, but quickly continued before they could begin speaking again. "I've kept it quiet for so long because Yamaki said that all the gates had been closed off by Juggernaut. I didn't know if it was safe...and because I knew that one day, we could go back anyway. Why rush it, right?" As Takato said the last bit, he was already starting to slide off of his perch in their little hut in the park, knowing that he would have to make a break for it, if the look on his two friends' faces said anything.

"You KNEW there was a Digital Gate this whole time!" Kazu said, barely keeping himself under control as he picked up his own box of cards, his eyes picking up just a slight hint of flame as he glared at Takato.

"And you DIDN'T tell us!" Kenta had followed Kazu's lead, picking up his box of cards as he followed Takato out of their little hut in the park, the fire in his eyes clearing stating that Takato.

"Uh, guys? C'mon, at least me tell me the others before you decide to go ahead and try to kill me." Takato said this in a sheepish manner as he continued to back away...before turning around and just falling into an all out sprint as Kazu and Kenta leapt down from the perch and took off after him

A few hours laters, all of the Tamers had met up in the park, even Alice, though she had never acquired a D-Power of her own. Judging from the looks on all their faces, though, they clearly were not happy with the news that Takato had just delievered to them.

"You mean to tell me that we could possibly have had our Digimon back almost right after we sent the D-Reaper back!" Henry said in a clearly restrained voice, the martial artist of the group stepping up to Takato. The navy-haired boy locked one hand onto Takato's collar, his eyes boring into Takato's, though the Goggle Head wasn't acting in defiant at all. If anything...he was trying his best to lower the anger level of everyone.

"I told you! I didn't know if the gate was safe or not, what with Yamaki having told us that all the gates had been closed off by Juggernaut. For all we know, that gate below us might just lead to some kid's computer desktop and not even remotely close to the Digital World." Takato finally managed to worm his way out of Henry's grasp...only to get caught in another one by Rika, who promptly lifted him up and planted him against the wall, her eyes seeming to turn into ice as she stared at the Goggle Boy.

"You think we actually care about things like that, Goggle Brains? All any of us care about is getting our Digimon back!" Being one of the few females of the group, Rika was obviously trying to put on a tough front, but her slightly more emotional side took over as she allowed Takato to drop to the ground. Her eyes didn't leave his, though, as she continued speaking. "Besides...we lost Ryo to the Digital World, too. He didn't come back with the rest of us, remember?" The anger level seemed to disappear after Rika mentioned Ryo, each Tamer's eyes dropping to the ground, even those of Alice, who hadn't met Ryo personally. After a few respectful moments of silence, Takato gave Rika a light grin, nodding once.

"I do know that, Rika, and I think it's a good thing he stayed behind." The look of surprise on Rika's face was quickly replaced to that of anger as the Digimon Queen lifted Takato off the group with one hand, bringing one hand back behind her head and clenching up into a fist as she stared at Takato's face.

"You better have a good explanation as to why losing one of our friends is good, Goggle Brains. Because I swear that if you don't..." She was cut off as Henry gently grasped Rika's clenched fist, causing the girl to glance behind her at the boy, giving him a confused look before sighing and gently setting Takato down. Henry locked eyes with Takato then nodded, clearly telling him to explain his point.

Takato nodded back, first adjusting his shirt with his hands before clearing his throat once, finally beginning after having taken one shaky breath. "With him staying in the Digital World, he probably gathered all our Digimon together and has attempted to keep them together. In doing that, he probably started to train all of them in hopes that they would be able to digivolve without us and help him defend the Digital World against any evil that might pop up while the rest of us are stuck in the Real World. I mean, seriously; him and Cyberdramon are strong, yes, but they can only do so much on their own." A look of astonished realization came onto Rika's face after she had heard Takato's explanation, the girl taking a step back and turning away from Takato before he could tease her about the face. A similar expression came onto the face of everyone in the hut, though the amount of enthusiasm behind it varied from person to person. Finally, Kazu raised his eyes to look at Takato, a questioning look in his eyes.

"Do you think that we could contact him through our D-Powers, or no?" The visor-wearing boy asked this and then pulled out his own D-Power, holding it up as if it would help to illustrate his point. Jeri winced as she pulled out her own D-Power, but held it up just like Kazu had, everyone else following the example and holding up their respectful digivices. The only person not to hold one up was Alice, and that was for obvious reasons.

"I honestly just haven't tried, Kazu. I thought our D-Powers were only meant for helping our Digimon to digivolve and for giving them the extra power boosts using the Digi-Modify option. I never noticed a communication part on it, otherwise we could've used that to contact each other when we were split up inside of the Digital World itself." Each person started to press the buttons on their D-Power after Takato had finished talking, each one obviously looking for some kind of communication device on it. After about a minute of searching, it was Suzie's who let out an affirmative beep before display lit up on her screen, listing some names on the screen.

"Hey, Henry! I think I got something." Suzie, knowing that her brother would be proud of her for finding it, quickly took a step over to her older brother and held up her D-Power, starting to cycle through the names. That is, she was cycling through them until Henry snatched the D-Power out of her hand, causing the youngest of the group, save for Ai and Mako, who were standing by the doorway, to let out a slight yelp before pointing a glare up at Henry. "HEY! What's the big idea?"

"I just saw Ryo's name, that's what." Henry said in a I if-it-wasn't-obvious manner, flipping back up the list a few names until Ryo's was highlighted again. He paused as he did so, however, noticing a few names above it that he didn't recognize. "Ken Ichijouji? Davis Motomiya? Any of you recognize these names?" Henry moved the D-Power from his face, about to show everyone...but then instructed Suzie to show everyone how she had made the list show up originally. The younger sister nodded and went around, pressing the set of buttons she had so that the list showed up for everyone. After she had done it for everyone else, she came back around and did it on Henry's, then snatching her D-Power back from him and giving him his own.

"Tai Kamiya? Matt Ishida?" Takato said, his tone just as confused as Henry's had.

"Sora Takenouchi? Izzy Izumi?" Kazu continued the list, pulling his visor off and strapped it onto one of his belt loops, a bewildered look on his face.

"Joe Kido? T.K. Takashi? Cody Hiroki?" Rika murmured the names as she leaned back against the wall, frowning as she continued to flick through.

"Kari Kamiya? Must be related to that one Tai Takato mentioned. Yolei Inou?" Kenta raised one of his hands up, pushing his glasses up his nose a bit, even as he continued to stare down at the digivice in front of him.

"That's under the heading of Digidestined, but Ryo's included with them. Under Tamers is us, and then...Legendary Warriors?" Henry frowned as he reached the Legendary Warrior list, each person in the hut gaining a similar look on their face as they silently flipped through the list. As the list came to an end, everyone raised their eyes up to look at each other in clear confusion...but then Takato pursed his lips and nodded slightly.

"Guess we're not the only ones to have Digimon partners. But...let's contact Ryo then, shall we?" Before anyone else could scroll up the list to Ryo's name, Rika was already there, confirming it and opening up a connection to him. The younger members of the group stared at Rika in a bit of a confusion, but everyone else who had seen those two interact before knew what was going on and watched with small, knowing smiles. At first, the only thing heard from the D-Power was static, but it slowly cleared up as a voice started to speak through it.

"...one there? This is Ryo, who is attempting to contact me?" Ryo's familiar voice rang out from Rika's D-Power, the Digimon Queen smiling a bit in an open manner before quickly putting her tough cover back on, lifting the digivice closer to her face. "Hey Hot Shot, it's the Queen. Just where are you at and where are the partner Digimon that we all came to love...except for that blasted dragon of yours, of course." Ryo's chuckle was heard in response to what Rika said, his response having the same cocky tone that everyone had grown to love.

"Well, hello, m'lady. 'Tis quite a surprise to hear your lovely voice hear in the middle of the Digital World." Ryo's flirtatious voice floated from the digivice and up to Rika's ears, causing the Digimon Queen to blush ever so slightly before recomposing herself and glaring at the the digivice in her hands. "Whatever, Ryo. Where are the Digimon at?" A chuckle was heard from Ryo, making it obvious he could hear the bit of frustration in Rika's voice from his flirting, but he slowly made himself go serious.

"Well, I'm riding on Cyberdramon's back right now as we head toward that castle I showed you guys before. I know that Terriermon and Lopmon, at the very least, are waiting for me there. I believe Renamon said something about her and Guilmon meeting us there a couple of days after that." The Tamers of the mentioned Digimon allowed smiles of relief to creep onto their faces. But Ai, Mako, Jeri, Alice, Kazu and Kenta all frowned at this news. Rika raised her head, noticing the unhappy frowns of her friends and quickly brought the D-Power back up.

"Alright, that's about half the team right there, Ryo. What about Impmon, MarineAngemon and Guardromon? Has there been any sight of a Leomon or Dobermon, either?" Alice and Jeri both winced as the Digimon they had grown to refer to as partners were mentioned, whereas the rest of the Tamers who had had their Digimon mentioned raised their eyes to look at the D-Power in Rika's hand. The anticipation in each of their faces was obvious, glaringly so as they slowly leaned forward to stare at the screen.

"Well, I believe that little imp went back to the desert where he first met that motorcycle of his. My guess? He wants to reconcile with the friends of the Digimon he destroyed, back when the Devas were controlling him. MarineAngemon went with Guardromon to that one Gekomon village. Oh, is Kazu there?" Ryo stopped his report of where the Digimon had been, though the note on which Ryo had ended on caused Kazu to look a bit troubled as he stepped forward. The partner to Guardromon bent down a bit so that his mouth was closer to Rika's D-Power, raising his voice just a bit to make sure he was heard. "Yeah, I'm here, Ryo. What's up?"

Rika involuntarily took a step back after Kazu had finished speaking, obviously not liking him being that close to her. Kazu, noticing the back step, threw a glare at her before simply taking the D-Power from her hand and raising it up so that he could look at it. Directly after he had, Ryo's voice started speaking again, as fun-filled as ever. "Well, Kazu, the reason Guardromon went back to the Gekomon village was so that he could go back to defending them, like he had been trying to do before you and him became partners. After only a few fights against various Digimon, all who's data he absorbed, he finally managed to digivolve! No longer are you the partner of a Guardromon, my friend. You are partner to an Andromon." This news from Ryo caused Kazu to relax, even going as far as letting out a brief 'Whoop!' before tossing the D-Power back to Rika, tromping back to Kenta and giving him a high five.

"Well, you managed to please most of the team so far, Hot Shot. What about the other two, though? You know, have you seen any sign of a Leomon or Dobermon at this point?" Alice and Jeri flinched yet again as their respective Digimon were mentioned, Rika raising her eyes to cast an apologetic look in their direction. The two young girls raised their own eyes to look at Rika, each one nodding to show it was okay, but all eyes instantly snapped back to the D-Power again as Ryo's voice again started to float out with a continuation of his report.

"Funny that you ask that, Rika, it really is. The main reason that the team is so spread out over the Digital World is because we're all searching for those exact two Digimon. Only difference is, though, is that we're also watching for their usual rookie forms, too; Elecmon and Labramon." Small smiles of obvious appreciation appeared on the faces of Alice and Jeri, the two girls stepping closer to the D-Power and lowered themselves down a bit to make sure their voices were heard. "Thank you, Ryo." The two said this in perfect unison before raising themselves back up and stepping back to where they had been. Takato's face briefly showed jealously, but the leader of the Tamers relaxed as Jeri cast a smile over in his direction, leaning back against the wall again. Rika rolled her eyes at the mushiness, but her eyes went back to the D-Power just as Ryo started speaking again.

"You're welcome, girls. Now, another reason why we're all spread out over the Digital World is because we're searching for the exact spot where you guys came into the Digital World the first time. If we can pin point that, Lopmon and Renamon think they may be able to figure out a way to go back and forth between the real and Digital worlds." Rika's eyes snapped up to lock on the eyes of Takato, who had also brought his attention to bear on the D-Power when Ryo had started talking. Without a word from either one, Rika snapped her wrist upward and tossed the D-Power to Takato, who effortlessly caught it, bringing it near his face and speaking into it.

"Ryo, glad you mentioned that. Right below the hut where I kept Guilmon during his first days in the real world, I found a Digital Gate. This Digital Gate is the exact same one that we used to first come to the Digital World. Do you think we should use it to try and get to the Digital World?" Takato said this as quickly as he could, though he made sure that each word came out in an understandable fashion, obviously excited about the possibility of being able to see Guilmon again. There was a few moments of silence, which caused the tension level in the hut to raise up, and just as Takato was about to ask Ryo if he was still there, the boy on the other end finally started speaking again.

"I'm not sure if that would be a good idea or not, Takato. From what I heard, that Juggernaut program was meant to completely seal the Real World off from the Digital World. If that gate leads anywhere except for the Digital World, you might not be able to get back. And even if it does lead to the Digital World, there's no real guarantee of getting back, not unless we find another way to get back besides the Arc." Ryo's voice was unusually serious as he spoke, and even though he wasn't standing there right in front of them, each person in the hut was able to guess the kind of expression on his face. Finally, seeming to be the first to absorb what Ryo had said, Takato raised Rika's D-Power back up.

"So, what should we do? I made a promise to Guilmon that we would see each other again. If you're indicating that we shouldn't even think about going through th-" Takato was cut off by Ryo saying saying 'quiet', the Goggle Head of the team frowning but doing as Ryo had indicated. The only reason behind it was probably the fact that Ryo was more of a veteran with this stuff than anyone else, even more so than Rika. After about another ten seconds, Ryo started talking again, his response making it obvious had been thinking it through.

"Okay, after Cyberdramon and me are able to get some rest back at the castle, we'll set again to go find Azulongmon so that I can talk to him. I'll tell him about this Digital Gate you mentioned and, hopefully, he has some sort of explanation. Once I'm done talking to him, I'll call you guys up via Rika's D-Power. Yes, Pumpkin, that does mean you might be hearing my sweet voice in the middle of the night." Ryo's voice had started out serious, but had fallen back into flirtatious 'tease' mode after he had mentioned he would be calling them back up. Rika blushed slightly before simply rolling her eyes, turning her back to the D-Power and crossing her arms across her chest. "But, before I can call you guys back, I'll obviously need one of you to explain how to access this communication channel." Suzie perked up as she heard this and quickly walked over to the D-Power, snatching it out of Takato's hands before he could react, walking off to one corner of the hut and explaining it to him.

"Well, Ryo certainly hasn't changed, has he?" Takato said this with a light chuckle, but quickly dropped to quiet as a glare was thrown his way by Rika. The Goggle Head slipped his hands into his pockets and slowly relaxed against the wall again.

"I'm surprised he didn't know about the communication function, though. He's been doing this longer than any of us, so you would think he would've had it figured out." Henry mentioned this fact as he crossed his arms over his chest, tilting his head downward slightly in a thoughtful manner.

Kazu shook his head at what Henry had said, crossing his own arms over his chest in a defiant manner, rather than that of a thoughtful manner as he looked at the boy who had been partner to Terriermon. "He may not have figured out the communication function on the D-Power, compadre, but neither did any of us. It was YOUR LITTLE SISTER who figured it out, Henry." Suzie's big brother winced after Kazu had mentioned this, casting a glare over at Kazu in response. Kazu just gave him a big grin before nodding, moving his arms up and interlocking his fingers behind his head. "Besides, he's the only one to get that one giant card to work on Cyberdramon. He's the only one to get the whip function on his D-Power to work, too."

"You mean THIS whip function, Dunce?" Rika's voice was heard only a mere couple of seconds before a whip made of pure light flashed through the air and slammed into Kazu's rear end, causing the visor-bearing boy to let out a yelp of pain before leaping out of the hut. Everyone turned their gaze to Rika who was grinning smugly as she held her D-Power, reclaimed after Suzie had finished her explanation to Ryo and signed off. The Digimon Queen snapped her wrist slightly and light whip recoiled back into the D-Power, Takato grinning slightly as he looked at Rika.

"Well, one more way to battle monsters for you, Rika. Care to teach us?"

Author's Note: Bwhahahahahahaha, take that, Kazu! I'm sorry, folks, I just couldn't resist beating on Kazu a bit. I promise that next chapter it will be Kenta. Now; if you read it, you better review it!


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